Compulsory licensing

The Kennel Club believes that more needs to be done to tackle
irresponsible dog owners in this country, but that it is misguided
to believe that the solution to this problem is dog licensing.

It is estimated that only 50% of dog owners take up licensing in
Northern Ireland, which proves that it is the responsible dog owner
who will end up paying a further tax on dog ownership, whilst the
irresponsible will continue to flout the law. Licensing has been
tried before in the UK and it has neither been enforceable nor has
it been effective. Licensing was introduced in the UK 1867 and
abolished in 1987.

Furthermore, there are no plans to ring-fence the money raised
through licensing to ensure that it goes back into education and
enforcement schemes that will tackle the problem of dangerous dogs
and irresponsible owners. The Kennel Club supports the concept of
tracing irresponsible dog owners through compulsory microchipping
instead as, unlike licensing, it is a one-off fee and provides
welfare benefits to the pet, to the owner and to society as a
whole.